Scottish Rugby: Scots say they have tickets

By Andrew Lomax

5:16PM GMT 28 Nov 2000

SCOTTISH rugby officials have quelled fears that loyal fans would be denied the chance they had been promised to cheer on their team in the Six Nations Championship. Worries were mounting that so many supporters had responded to the autumn international ticket incentive scheme that there would not be enough to go round for the championship matches with Wales and Ireland.

But Phil Anderton, the new man in charge of marketing at Murrayfield, denied that the Scottish Rugby Union were in danger of becoming victims of their own success and insisted: "Everyone who is entitled to a Six Nations ticket will get one. As expected, we have had a lot of applications but we can and will provide as we promised."

Anderton had issued his original pledge in an attempt to lure crowds to the encounters earlier this month with world champions Australia, the United States and Samoa. Supporters who committed themselves to attending all three games were guaranteed free entry to the meeting with Italy or the right to buy a ticket for either the Welsh or Irish games.

The response exceeded all expectations as an aggregate of more than 130,000 attended the autumn series and there were fears that once tickets had been distributed among debenture-seat holders, clubs and away fans, there might not be enough remaining to meet the demands of those who had taken up Anderton's deal.

Anderton said: "The majority of applications under the scheme have been for the free tickets to watch Scotland v Italy. They account for about 50 per cent of the total."

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It is believed, however, that some supporters who have applied for Six Nations tickets through clubs may be unlucky. In keeping with the current feelgood factor in Scottish rugby, block-ticket applications from clubs have been higher than for many seasons and some may miss out because so many tickets are being sent to the people who committed themselves to the autumn games.

There is also evidence that demand from all quarters for tickets to attend Scotland's away matches against England at Twickenham and France in Paris has increased dramatically in comparison with recent years.